Authorities seek woman accused of abandoning children

Published 6:00 pm, Monday, January 7, 2008

A woman accused of leaving her children with little food and no money while she traveled to Nigeria to marry a man she met on the Internet has been charged with child endangerment and child abandonment.

Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for Shanell Monique Mosley, 33, but her relatives haven't heard from her and don't know how to contact her, a Child Protective Services spokeswoman said Monday.

Harris County deputies making a welfare check last week at the home outside Houston found six children between the ages of 1 and 9 alone. The children's 15-year-old sister was caring for them, as well as a neighbor's 3-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl.

Mosley reportedly told one of her daughters that she would be gone one month, child welfare officials said.

"We still haven't heard from the mother," said Estella Olguin, with Child Protective Services.

A criminal complaint filed against Mosley on Monday said the home was littered with trash and other debris and lacked a working telephone.

Her "closet and dresser were cleared of every single item as if she had no intent to return," the criminal complaint said.

Mosley left a welfare food card for the children, but it had no monetary balance, officials said.

Mosley's six children and the neighbor's two children have been placed in foster homes, and a custody hearing is set for Jan. 16.

"Right now, we're going to ask for the children to remain in our custody," Olguin said. "If any relatives come forward, we would have to make sure about their background."

Mosley's family fled New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, officials said.

The neighbor told officials that Mosley's sister was supposed to come from New Orleans to care for the children during her absence.

"We did talk to the (children's) aunt. She just didn't have the money to come here," Olguin said.

The neighbor, who told investigators he drove Mosley to the airport for the trip to Africa, said he didn't know the conditions were that bad in the home, Olguin said.

Harris County and Child Protective Service employees were still investigating the neighbor to figure out if he was aware of the dirty conditions.

Authorities learned about the situation after the 15-year-old told a youth advocate that she had crashed the family's van into the garage on Dec. 31.